The Best external portable hard drive of 2022 – Reviewed and Top Rated

After hours researching and comparing all models on the market, we find out the Best external portable hard drive of 2022. Check our ranking below.

2,335 Reviews Scanned

SaleRank No. #1

Seagate Portable 5TB External Hard Drive HDD – USB 3.0 for PC, Mac, PS4, & Xbox - 1-Year Rescue Service (STGX5000400), Black

Easily store and access 5TB of content on the go with the Seagate portable drive, a USB external hard Drive
Designed to work with Windows or Mac computers, this external hard drive makes backup a snap just drag and drop
To get set up, connect the portable hard drive to a computer for automatic recognition software required
This USB drive provides plug and play simplicity with the included 18 inch USB 3.0 cable

SaleRank No. #2

WD 5TB Elements Portable External Hard Drive for Windows, USB 3.2 Gen 1/USB 3.0 for PC & Mac, Plug and Play Ready - WDBU6Y0050BBK-WESN

High capacity in a small enclosure – The small, lightweight design offers up to 6TB* capacity, making WD Elements portable hard drives the ideal companion for consumers on the go.
Plug-and-play expandability
Vast capacities up to 6TB[1] to store your photos, videos, music, important documents and more
SuperSpeed USB 3.2 Gen 1 (5Gbps)

Rank No. #3

WD 2TB Elements Portable External Hard Drive for Windows, USB 3.2 Gen 1/USB 3.0 for PC & Mac, Plug and Play Ready - WDBU6Y0020BBK-WESN

High capacity in a small enclosure – The small, lightweight design offers up to 6TB* capacity, making WD Elements portable hard drives the ideal companion for consumers on the go.
Plug-and-play expandability
Vast capacities up to 6TB[1] to store your photos, videos, music, important documents and more
SuperSpeed USB 3.2 Gen 1 (5Gbps)

Rank No. #4

Toshiba Canvio Basics 2TB Portable External Hard Drive USB 3.0, Black - HDTB520XK3AA

Sleek profile design with a matte, smudge-resistance finish
Plug & Play - Easy to use with no software to install
Quickly add more storage capacity to your PC and other compatible devices
USB 3.0 and USB 2.0 compatible with no external AC power cord needed
Pre-formatted NTFS for Windows PC (reformatting required for Mac computers)

SaleRank No. #5

SanDisk 1TB Extreme Portable SSD - Up to 1050MB/s, USB-C, USB 3.2 Gen 2, IP65 Water and Dust Resistance, Updated Firmware - External Solid State Drive - SDSSDE61-1T00-G25

Get NVMe solid state performance with up to 1050MB/s read and 1000MB/s write speeds in a portable, high-capacity drive(1) (Based on internal testing; performance may be lower depending on host device & other factors. 1MB=1,000,000 bytes.)
Up to 3-meter drop protection and IP65 water and dust resistance mean this tough drive can take a beating(3) (Previously rated for 2-meter drop protection and IP55 rating. Now qualified for the higher, stated specs.)
Use the handy carabiner loop to secure it to your belt loop or backpack for extra peace of mind.
Help keep private content private with the included password protection featuring 256‐bit AES hardware encryption.(3)
Easily manage files and automatically free up space with the SanDisk Memory Zone app.(5)

SaleRank No. #6

Maxone 1TB Ultra Slim Portable External Hard Drive HDD USB 3.0 Compatible with PC, Laptop, Charcoal Grey

Ultra Slim and Sturdy Metal Design: Merely 0.4 inch thick. All-Aluminum anti-scratch model delivers remarkable strength and durability, keeping this portable hard drive running cool and quiet.
Compatibility: It is compatible with Microsoft Windows 7/8/10, and provides fast and stable performance for PC, Laptop.
Improve PC Performance: Powered by USB 3.0 technology, this USB hard drive is much faster than - but still compatible with - USB 2.0 backup drive, allowing for super fast transfer speed at up to 5 Gbit/s.
Plug and Play: This external drive is ready to use without external power supply or software installation needed. Ideal extra storage for your computer and game console.
What's Included: Portable external hard drive, 19-inch(48.26cm) USB 3.0 hard drive cable, user's manual, 3-Year manufacturer warranty with free technical support service.

Rank No. #7

UnionSine 500GB 2.5" Ultra Slim Portable External Hard Drive HDD-USB 3.0 for PC, Mac, Laptop, PS4, Xbox one,Xbox 360-HD-2510(Black)

【Ultra-Fast Data Transfers 】- The external hard drive works with the USB 3.0 thickened copper core cable to provide super fast transfer speed. The theoretical read speed is as high as 110MB/s-133MB/s, and the write speed is as high as 103MB/s.
【Ultra-thin and quiet】-The motherboard adopts JMicron 578 noise-free solution, giving you a quiet working environment. Lightweight and portable size designed to fit in your pocket for easy portability.
【Compatibility】Compatible with PS4/xbox one/Windows/Linux/Mac/Android / stable and fast loading on game consoles no difference from fast transmission when using on PC
【Plug and Play】 - With no software to install, just plug it in and the drive is ready to use.The hard disk chip is wrapped with an aluminum anti-interference layer to increase heat dissipation and protect data
【Double anti-interference】-The external hard drive chip adds a signal shielding layer, the transmission speed of the hard disk will be faster than other hard disks, stable and undisturbed

Rank No. #8

SSK Portable SSD 1TB External Solid State Drives, up to 1050MB/s USB C SSD External Hard Drive USB 3.2 Gen2 for iPhone 15/Pro, Windows, Mac, Android Phones and Tablets

Capacity Reminder: Display capacity of 1TB SSD often appears as around 931GB on Windows. MacOS typically shows full 1TB. This display capacity reduction of 7% to 10% from SSD actual capacity is from algorithms differences in which 1GB is interpreted as 1024MB on Windows and 1000MB on SSDs
1050 MB/s Speed: Instantly access to your files with blazing-fast 10Gbps external SSD read up to 1050MB/s and write up to 1000MB/s. LED Light indicates USB SSD instant activity
Data Security: Master solid state drives health with S.M.A.R.T. monitoring. TRIM technology ensures consistent write speeds and extends the lifespan of the portable SSD
USB-C & USB-A Cable: Both USB-C and USB-A cables featuring rapid USB 3.2 Gen2, this USB SSD effortlessly bridges devices, enabling seamless cross-platform file transfers between computers, smartphones, tablets and Phones
Always Fast: No slowdowns during large file transfers. When transferring files smaller than 250GB, this external ssd remains steady 10Gbps with SLC caching (25%of the current available capacity is allocated for high speed cache)

Rank No. #9

YOTUO Portable External Hard Drive Storage Expansion Mobile HDD USB 3.0 USB-C for PC, Mac, Desktop, Laptop, PS4, PS5, Xbox One X/S, Xbox 360, Xbox Series X/S, Office & Game (Black, 1TB)

【Plug and play for home and office equipment】YOTUO HDD01 USB 3.0 external hard drive. Suitable for Windows XP/2003/Vista/7/8/10/11, Linux, Mac OS system. As well as laptops, desktop computers, PS4, PS5, XBOX 360, XBOX ONE, XBOX series X/S and other office equipment and gaming equipment. The product is plug-and-play when used in Windows. For Mac users, first format the drive and select the ExFat format.
【The first time you use this product in your gaming device, you will need to install an external hard disk into your gaming device】XBOX Simply follow the steps prompted by the system pop-up window to use it in the device. PS5 may receive the message "This USB drive's file system is unsupported" when plugging in an external hard disk and may display an incorrect storage capacity. There is no need to worry. You can simply find "USB Storage Device" in the "Settings" screen, follow the steps prompted by the system to install the drive and format it, and it will be ready for use. PS4, please find "USB Storage Device" in "Device" interface in "Settings".
【Gaming device manufacturer restrictions for different generations of games】Due to restrictions imposed by gaming device manufacturers, the PS5 can read and run PS4 games directly from an external hard drive, but cannot run PS5 games directly from an external hard drive; PS5 games on the external hard drive need to be moved to the device in order to run. Similarly, the Xbox X Series and Xbox S Series can only run Xbox One games directly from an external hard drive.
【Patented silicone sleeve protects hard drive】 The patented silicone sleeve inside wraps around the hard disk. It protects the hard disk more effectively against shocks and drops.
【About the discrepancy between the nominal capacity and the actual capacity】The actual capacity of the hard disk is not the same as the nominal capacity because the measurement method (binary) used by the hard disk manufacturer is different from the measurement method (decimal) used by the computer system. This is normal.

Rank No. #10

LaCie Rugged Mini 2TB External Hard Drive Portable HDD - USB 3.0/ 2.0 Compatible, Drop Shock Dust Rain Resistant Shuttle Drive, For Mac And PC Computer (LAC9000298), orange

Shock, drops up to 4 feet, dust and water resistant for all-terrain use.Specific uses: Personal
For Mac compatibility this Hard Drive requires reformatting. Refer to Application Guide for more details
Password protection built in
Uses USB 3.0 which is up to 4 times faster than USB 2.0 (USB 2.0 compatible)
Includes 1-month complimentary membership to Adobe Creative Cloud All Apps Plan. Must redeem by January 31, 2020

Last update on 2025-04-17 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API

How Do You Buy The Best external portable hard drive?

Do you get stressed out thinking about shopping for a great external portable hard drive? Do doubts keep creeping into your mind? We understand, because we’ve already gone through the whole process of researching external portable hard drive, which is why we have assembled a comprehensive list of the greatest external portable hard drive available in the current market. We’ve also come up with a list of questions that you probably have yourself.

We’ve done the best we can with our thoughts and recommendations, but it’s still crucial that you do thorough research on your own for external portable hard drive that you consider buying. Your questions might include the following:

Is it worth buying an external portable hard drive?
What benefits are there with buying an external portable hard drive?
What factors deserve consideration when shopping for an effective external portable hard drive?
Why is it crucial to invest in any external portable hard drive, much less the best one?
Which external portable hard drive are good in the current market?
Where can you find information like this about external portable hard drive?

We’re convinced that you likely have far more questions than just these regarding external portable hard drive, and the only real way to satisfy your need for knowledge is to get information from as many reputable online sources as you possibly can.

Potential sources can include buying guides for external portable hard drive, rating websites, word-of-mouth testimonials, online forums, and product reviews. Thorough and mindful research is crucial to making sure you get your hands on the best-possible external portable hard drive. Make sure that you are only using trustworthy and credible websites and sources.

We provide an external portable hard drive buying guide, and the information is totally objective and authentic. We employ both AI and big data in proofreading the collected information. How did we create this buying guide? We did it using a custom-created selection of algorithms that lets us manifest a top-10 list of the best available external portable hard drive currently available on the market.

This technology we use to assemble our list depends on a variety of factors, including but not limited to the following:

Brand Value: Every brand of external portable hard drive has a value all its own. Most brands offer some sort of unique selling proposition that’s supposed to bring something different to the table than their competitors.
Features: What bells and whistles matter for an external portable hard drive?
Specifications: How powerful they are can be measured.
Product Value: This simply is how much bang for the buck you get from your external portable hard drive.
Customer Ratings: Number ratings grade external portable hard drive objectively.
Customer Reviews: Closely related to ratings, these paragraphs give you first-hand and detailed information from real-world users about their external portable hard drive.
Product Quality: You don’t always get what you pay for with an external portable hard drive, sometimes less, and sometimes more.
Product Reliability: How sturdy and durable an external portable hard drive is should be an indication of how long it will work out for you.

We always remember that maintaining external portable hard drive information to stay current is a top priority, which is why we are constantly updating our websites. Learn more about us using online sources.

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The Best external portable hard drive of 2022 – Reviewed and Top Rated

How Do You Buy The Best external portable hard drive?

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